Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Lighting systems include lighting fixtures (e.g., luminaires), sensors (e.g., occupancy sensors), and lighting controllers. It is increasingly common for lighting fixtures to be equipped with individual occupancy sensors and control devices. These sensors and devices add to the complexity of system setup and programming, as each needs to be identified and grouped, for example by a technician, as part of programming the specified sequence of operations for the installation. With conventional software setup and programming methods for lighting systems, a user manually identifies and programs each control point to create lighting zones. Manually identifying and programming the control points takes considerable time and introduces opportunities for error.
In some cases, lighting systems may cause individual lighting fixtures to generate special coded light signals for use in conjunction with a mobile device to help a technician identify and program the lighting fixtures. However, the use of coded light signals requires special, and uncommon, capabilities of the driver and light engine in each lighting fixture. Other lighting systems use a custom laser “wand” that the technician uses to trigger light sensors in the lighting fixtures to identify and program them. The laser wand requires careful aiming to align the laser beam with the correct sensor in the lighting fixture. Additionally, the laser wand is a special piece of equipment that must be purchased and kept track of for future use. Often, initial set up (e.g., commissioning) of lighting fixtures and switches in a lighting installation is performed by a technician having little familiarity with the lighting control system. Thus, the commissioning procedure should be uncomplicated to minimize set up errors.